ORANGE COUNTY BRIEFLY : Million-Dollar Home Sales Fuel Hopes for Real Estate Recovery

Sales of million-dollar homes in California, including those in Orange County, made a strong comeback last year, lifting hopes that the state’s real estate recovery has spread to one of the hardest-hit segments of the market.

Buyers paid $1 million or more for 1,821 new and used houses and condos statewide in 1993, up 55% from 1,177 the previous year, according to Dataquick Information Systems, a research firm in La Jolla.

California’s overall house and condo sales last year increased 12% from 1993.

Donald L. Cohn, Dataquick’s chief executive officer, said a lot of the million-dollar properties are selling at a deep discount. “Bargain-hunters are making some very nice deals these days,” he said.

Most of the luxury homes sold were in the Southland: Los Angeles, including Bel-Air, had 230 million-dollar home sales last year, up from 160 in 1993; Beverly Hills had 139 last year, up from 84; Malibu, 63, up from 32; and Santa Monica, 53, up from 40.

In Orange County, 60 houses and condos in Newport Beach were sold last year for $1 million or more, up from 48 in 1993. And 26 such properties changed hands in Laguna Hills, up from 22.

ZIP code 90210 of television fame had the highest sales count, with 134 transactions.

The most expensive home sold last year was a Bel-Air house that went for $7 million in November. Most of the rest were between $1 million and $2 million. The highest-priced house sold in Laguna Beach last year went for $3.2 million, and in Newport Beach the top price was $2.3 million.

Buyers paid cash in 406 of the 1,821 transactions, or 22%--which is well below the 35% that is typical for that market segment. People who finance are usually able to borrow about 60% of the purchase price, Dataquick said.